A Weekly Walk - November 21

Friends Who Pray for You

I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day.4As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. 5I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. 6For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, 7for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.—2 timothy 3:3-7

I’m more persuaded than ever that God’s work in my life is a direct answer to the prayers of people.

When I was in high school, our pastor assigned a senior to every student in the student ministry. I was assigned to a woman named Evelyn White. All through high school I would go over to her house about once every other month, and she would say, “Oh James, let me pray for you.” And she would place her hand on me and pray. I had never heard anyone pray like that. She would ask Him to use my life. She would pray against sin in my life. And she prayed for purity, a good attitude, and perseverance. She called out to God for me!

Evelyn went to be with the Lord early in the ‘90’s but the mark that her prayers made on my life was indelible. I thank God for her ministry in my life.

The lifetime lesson I learned from Evelyn is that we don’t have to go through the Christian life alone. The Lord places friends around us, sometimes unexpected friends, who pray for us—who lift up our name before “the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

Timothy had such a friend in Paul. Paul says, “I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day.” Do you realize that people who might not even know you are praying for you?

Before Harvest Bible Chapel ever began, we’d be on our knees calling out to God. Do you know who we were praying for? You! We were praying that God would allow us to reach you and impact your life. In a major way, Walk in the Word is a ministry outgrowth of Harvest Bible Chapel. Even then, we were asking God to cultivate in our hearts an understanding of what it would really mean to minister to you and to care for you and to build into your lives hope and truth and faith in God’s Word. Now, every week, we at Walk in the Word continue to pray for marriages, for lost loved ones, for rebellious children—whatever needs are made known to us.

You have friends who love you and pray for you. We are your friends and we love you and we pray for you. Persevere in doing what is right—someone is praying for you.
—James MacDonald

Journal:

· Have I ever been surprised to find out who has been praying for me? Have I thanked God for them?

· Who am I actively praying for?

Prayer: Father in heaven, What an amazing gift it is that You call Your people to pray for one another! Forgive me for not appreciating the impact others’ prayers have had on my life. Your Word says that Your Son lives to intercede for the saints. Help me to realize that when I pray for others, I am most like Your great Son, Jesus Christ. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

What if you believed—truly believed with all confidence that God is with you? How would today go for you if you knew without a doubt that God is in control? What would be different in your life if you were sure God is watching and good? What would you risk if you were certain God is victorious?

Just how would believing God’s promises change your life?

Ask the greatest Christian you’ll ever meet if they hold on to God’s promises and they’ll all say yes. Believing that God will do what He promises leads to a great life. The greatest Christian you’ll every meet knows, treasures, and is resting in the promises of God. They cling to these assurances that God gives His people so they can walk by faith while they wait for Him to work.

So what exactly does God promise? In this topical study of what will always be true, Pastor James MacDonald will explore five great and precious promises that God keeps. Enter into this study with anticipation and faith that the God who makes these promises is faithful and true... always true.

Pastor James MacDonald preaches without apology straight from the pages of Scripture, provoking Christians to think and act on their faith. His Bible-teaching ministry, Walk in the Word, launched on as a radio broadcast in 1997, with the mission of "igniting passion in the people of God through the proclamation of truth."

About Dr. James MacDonald

James MacDonald (D. Min., Phoenix Seminary) is the founder and Senior Pastor of Harvest Bible Chapel. He has led the church from the time it began with just 18 people in 1988 to the present, where 13,000 people attend seven campuses in the Chicago area weekly. His practical teaching of God’s Word is broadcast daily around the world on radio and TV through the program Walk in the Word, and more than 160 vertical churches have been planted on four continents under Dr. MacDonald’s leadership. Pastor James has authored several books and Bible studies, including: Act Like Men; Vertical Church; Lord, Change Me; Lord, Change My Attitude; When Life is Hard; Always True; and most recently, The Will of God IS the Word of God. He and his wife Kathy live in the Chicagoland area near their seven beloved grandchildren, and three adult children who serve alongside them in ministry.